


Last Chance

by Sidders



Category: Lovecraft Country (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:55:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28507797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sidders/pseuds/Sidders
Summary: “It was an accident!” Leti insists when Ruby does just that but her sister scoffs.“You just accidentally drained magic from white people?”
Relationships: Ruby Baptiste/Christina Braithwhite
Comments: 2
Kudos: 50





	Last Chance

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!  
> This is kind of a quick one here. A few of us were given prompts and had to write something under 1500 words and the prompt I chose was "I might never get another chance to say this." so I went with something set in the same universe as my other fic, Alternative Solutions.  
> 

Tic refuses to actually place the blame on anyone. He says it was a simple mistake, “anyone could have done it.”

Christina knows who is responsible for their current predicament but she also knows that she is supposed to be staying on her cousin’s good side, so she bites her tongue – perhaps literally, if the pained expression on her face is anything to go by.

Ruby, however, has never had a problem with calling her sister out on her bullshit and now is no different, not when Leti’s meddling got them all into this mess.

“It was an accident!” Leti insists when Ruby does just that but her sister scoffs.

“You just _accidentally_ drained magic from white people?” 

“Yes!” Leti nods, eyes flicking to Christina. “I was just trying to take it away from her.”

Attic swears under his breath and plants his hands on his hips, and he gets that pinched look on his face that would, under normal circumstances, make Christina laugh. Now she just sighs, dropping onto Leti’s couch and rubbing a hand over her face.

“Leti, we made a deal,” Tic starts but Leti laughs.

“No, _you_ made a deal and just expected the rest of us to go along with it.”

“Are you aware,” Christina begins, looking up to meet Leti’s gaze, “that if I wanted you dead, I would have done it months ago?”

“Chris-” Ruby tries but the other woman shakes her head and stands.

“Four months,” she says, approaching Leti. “It has been _four months_ since we came to an agreement on the Book of Names and you have let me look at it once, supervised, for ten whole minutes.” She comes to a stop less than a foot away.

“And in that time I could have killed the both of you. I could have taken the book, burned this house to the ground and driven off into the sunset.” Ruby’s hand in her own makes her pause for a moment. “But I didn’t. As much as you may test my patience, I have _never_ wanted to harm either of you and I don’t know how many times I have to say that for you to believe me.”

Leti at least has the decency to look a little sheepish but she still takes a few steps backwards to Atticus, who instinctively puts an arm around her shoulders.

“And now, thanks to you refusing to trust her – to trust _me_ – we’ve got a disgusting mass of tentacles trying to eat Chicago,” Ruby adds.

Right on cue an inhuman screech comes from somewhere deeper into the city and Leti flinches.

“How was I supposed to know that – that-”

“That not everyone uses magic maliciously?” Christina offers. “We’re lucky that the spell was only strong enough to affect the immediate area. There are creatures kept locked beneath the ground across Europe that even I don’t care to think about.”

Another screech gets Atticus moving, heading over to the coffee table to flip open the Book of Names. “Well there’s got to be something in here to fix it, right?”

“Not anything that will work in time.”

“Then what do we do?”

All eyes land on Christina and she gives a humourless laugh. It figures, really, that even after a member of their own group tried to leave her powerless, they all still turn to her for answers.

“My magic isn’t _gone_ ,” she says after a moment. “Whatever spell you used, you did it poorly,” she tells Leti, with perhaps a small amount of satisfaction. “It’s more like my batteries ran out.”

“So how do we charge you back up again?” Ruby asks. This time everyone follows Christina’s gaze to Tic.

“What?”

There’s a spell in the Book of Names, Christina tells them. A ritual that would combine Tic’s magic with Christina’s, allowing them both to use it. It’s dangerous, of course. They would have to work perfectly in sync and, given their less than harmonious relationship, could end badly.

“Why can’t Tic just fight that thing on his own?” Leti asks when she’s done. “If you’d be sharing his magic anyway?”

“Because Atticus has been using magic for all of five minutes and probably wouldn’t know how to take on a Doberman, much less whatever that is.”

And they argue. Of course they argue. And it’s fortunate that the spell isn’t particularly time consuming because despite knowing that Christina is right, that she’s the strongest magic user among them, that their chances of winning this without her are slim to none, Leti has to fight her every step of the way.

“It’ll be fine,” Christina assures Ruby later, when they’re done, Atticus already waiting by the door. But there’s doubt in Ruby’s eyes and Christina squeezes her hand. “Just in case, though. Because I might never get another chance to say this-”

But Ruby interrupts her with a raised hand. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t give me some heroic, bullshit goodbye like you’re not coming back.” Both of her hands come up to cup Christina’s jaw, Christina leaning into her. “Because you _are_ coming back. And while you’re gone, I’ll be having a conversation with my sister.”

Christina smirks at that, tilting her head to press a kiss to Ruby’s palm. “I’m sorry I’ll miss that.”


End file.
